An investor from the British Virgin Islands has filed a complaint against ho Chi Minh City officials for mishandling its investment license and soliciting bribes, local media reported.

K.S.T International Holdings Ltd., which is seeking a license to open a business to import electric equipment, said it has been misled by the city's Department of Planning and Investment on several occasions over the past few months.

Tuoi Tre newspaper on Monday quoted Peng Jung Ming, a representative of the company, as saying that the application for an investment license was filed by a Vietnamese employee in July.

Soon later the department rejected it, saying the company was registered in the British Virgin Islands, which is not a member of the World Trade Organization. The Vietnamese employee, Tran Thanh Thanh, was asked to pay so-called "service fees" to secure an approval, the newspaper reported.

Then on August 24, when Peng accompanied Thanh to the department's office, they were told that the application was sufficient and that they could start preparing to apply for a business license.

Peng said his company then spent more than VND1 billion ($44,800) leasing an office and recruiting employees.

However, on September 7, when he came to receive the investment license, he was informed that the application had been rejected.